She got up and went to the table. She was now about two feet high. The cause of this was the fan that she was holding, and she dropped it hastily.
And she ran back to the little door: but, alas! the little door was shut again, and the little golden key was lying on the glass table as before. Her foot slipped, and in another moment, splash! she was in salt water. She was in the pool of her own tears!
'I am drowning in my own tears!' said Alice, 'everything is queer today.'
Just then she heard a splash: at first she thought it was a walrus or hippopotamus, but then she remembered how small she was now, and she soon understood that it was only a mouse.
'Shall I' thought Alice, 'speak to this mouse? I'll try.' So she began: 'O Mouse, do you know the way out of this pool? I am very tired, O Mouse!'
The Mouse looked at her, but it said nothing.
'Perhaps it doesn't understand English,' thought Alice; 'Maybe it's a French mouse.' So she began again: 'Où est ma chatte?[3]' It was the first sentence in her French lesson-book. The Mouse was in terror.
'Oh, I beg your pardon!' cried Alice hastily. 'I quite forgot you didn't like cats.'
'Didn't like cats!' cried the Mouse, in a shrill, passionate voice. 'I am a mouse, can't you see?'
'Yes, yes,' said Alice: 'don't be angry. But there are good cats, for example, our cat Dinah. She is very clever and beautiful. And she likes to catch mice… – oh, I beg your pardon!' cried Alice again. 'We won't talk about Dinah anymore.'
'We indeed!' cried the Mouse. 'Our family always hated cats: nasty, low, vulgar animals! Don't talk about cats again!'
'I won't!' said Alice. 'Do you-do you-like-dogs?' The Mouse did not answer.
'There is such a nice little dog near our house! A little bright-eyed terrier, you know, with oh, such long curly brown hair! It can do everything-and it belongs to a farmer, you know, and he says it's so useful, it's worth a hundred pounds! He says it kills all the rats and… oh dear!' cried Alice in a sorrowful tone, 'I'm sorry!'
The Mouse was swimming away from her very fast. Alice called softly after it, 'Mouse dear! Come back again, and we won't talk about cats or dogs, if you don't like them!'
When the Mouse heard this, it turned round and swam slowly back to her: its face was quite pale, and it said in a low voice, 'Let us get to the shore, and then I'll tell you my story, and you'll understand why it is I hate cats and dogs.'